Car-wheel



(No Model.) I I 2 Sheets-Sheet 1. R. N. ALLEN.

GAR WHEEL.

Nu-396,721. Patented Jan. 29, 1889.

Qt N N m N a WITNESSES:

u, PEYERS. mmum nm Wuhinglm u. c

(N0 Model-J, 2Sheets-Sheet 2. R. NRALLEN,

GAR WHEEL.

No. 396,721. Patented Jan. 29, 1889.

WITNESSES wv w/ .NIT ATES Parent Orricn.

RICHARD N. ALLEN, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

CAR-WHEEL SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N 0. 396,721, dated January 29, 1889.

Application filed June 14, 1888. Serial No. 277,115. (No model.

' body of the wheel, which is composed of two main or principal parts secured. together by bolts or rivets, these parts being of such shape that when united. they will leave a space or spaces between them and form. hoilow car wheel centers.

I-Ieretotore hollow car-wheel centers, independent of the tire, have been made of a single piece by casting, or of two parts or sidepieces practically one, since they are inseparably united in the process by which they are made. The former, or those cast in a single piece, have been made both with and without cross-ribs or stays; but the objections to such car-wheel centers with cross-ribs or stays, as heretofore made, are many and serious. The process of manufacture is expensive and attended with considerable diliiculty, owing to the fact that cores conforming to the hollow parts of the centers must be prepared for each casting, and great care must be exercised in properly making and placing them in the mold for the casting operation, and after the metal is poured the cores must be broken up and expelled through. openings formed in the sides, rim, or hub, which. openings tend to detract trom'the strength of the wheels. it has also been proposed to secure to opposite sides of a web or central portion of a car-wheel side plates by means of rivets or bolts for the purpose of strengthening the wheel; but in such cases the said. web, the tire, and the hub have been cast in one piece.

It is the object of the present invention to obviate the defects above referred. to in the manufacture of'hollow car-wheel centers, and to produce a carwheel' which shall have all the advantages in strength and lightness which is possessed by the most approved carwheel whose center is cast in. a single piece, and to accomplish this at a considm'able sav ing of time and expense.

My invention. is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which show my preferred construction of car-wheel, and in which Figure 1. is a central section of a carwheel along the line of Fig. 'Fig. 2 is a view in elevation of the car-wheel center with one side plate removed. Fig. 3 is an elevation of the inner side or face of the completed wheel, and Fig. l is an elevation of outer side or face thereof.

In the drawings, A represents the center or body of the wheel, which includes the entire wheel. except the tire. This center is made up of two main or principal parts, B and O, of

which E is made of cast metal, generally of iron or steel, and preferably includes the hub D, the side plate, E, the cross ribs or stays F, and the main part of the rim G. The other part, O, forms the other side plate of the center, and is preferably made of wrought iron or steel, and is firmly united to the part B by bolts or rivets H and I. readily cast in an ordinary mold prepared in any of the usual ways well known to workers of cast metal. No prepared cores are required, but only an ordinary pattern of the part B, which can be easily molded in sand and readily drawn therefrom and will form a perfect matrix to receive the molten metal and form the part B.

It is preferred that the series of bolts or rivets H nearest the hub of the wheel should pass through the ribs or stays I, and for this purpose apart of the ribs may be enlarged along this line, as designated by J in Fig. 2 of the drawings, to provide a body of metal sufficient to receive bolt-holes of the requisite size. If there are as many ribs as are shown in the drawings, one bolt to every other rib, at points adjacent the hub, will be sufficient to bind the parts of the center securely to get-her. So, also, the ribs where they join the rim G are enlarged for the same purpose. The edges of the ribs F, which 'are'adjacent the side plate O, need not be in contact with that plate throughout the whole length of the The part B can be ribs; but the central or middle parts lying between the outer and inner series of bolts or rivets may be, and preferably should be, stopped off, so as to leave open spaces K between these edges and the adjacent plate. This will save considerable expense, which would be incurred if these edges were finished to form a close joint with the plate. The parts of the edges of the ribs which are adjacent the hub and rim should be turned off or faced to furnish even and smooth surfaces, against which the inner face ol. the plate will it and make close joints.

It is not essential that the ribs or stays 1 should be continuous from the hub to the rim, so as to divide the interior of the center into a series of closed chambers; but in addition to the openings K there may be other openings through these ribs near the hub or rim or at their central parts, the design and purpose of the ribs bein simply to strengthen the wheel against both lateral and radial strains.

The side plate (1 is preferably made from wrought iron. or steel rolled out to the desired thickness and cut to the proper size and shape. This plate is applied to the part .1 so that its inner periphery is in contact with the hub and preferably abuts against a shoulder, L, formed thereon, while the part near its outer periphery overlaps the edge of the rim G. The series of bolts or rivets ll secures the parts B and 0 together and completes the center, which is hollow, or has a space or spaces inclosed by the parts 3 and The tire of the wheel (designated by T in the drawings) is preferably of steel. and rolled to the proper size and shape, and is secured to the center or body of the wheel in any desired manner. Preferably the tire is formed with an inwardly-project'in g web, M, located near its outer edge, and with a tongue, N, and groove 0 located near its inner edge.

P is an annulus or ring provided with a tongue and groove corresponding with the tongue N and groove 0 on the tire and adapted to engage tl'ierewith.

A tire constructed above described .isap plied and secured to the center of the wheel as follows: The inner bearing or contact surface of the tire and the outer periphery or edge of the center are turned off or faced to conform and make a close joint, and the tire is placed onto the center, so that the web .Wl will overlap the plate C near its periphery and be in close contact therewith. The ring P is then forced into position. Holes for bolts I can then be bored in the proper places through the web of the tire, the plate C, the rim G, and the ring P, and the bolts inserted, and the several parts drawn and firmly held in close and secure contact by means of the nuts. I do not, however, wish to limit my invention to a tire of any special construction or secured to the center or body in any special niannerj I v If the part B of the center is cast from steel, the ring I may be cast with the part 1'), and these piece. In this case the groove in the part P, which. is filled by a tongue on the tire, can be readily cut or grooved outby the proper turning-tools.

In the abovedescription and in the accompanying drawings the outer side plate 0 is a separate piece secured by belts or rivets to the part 13, which is cast in a single piece. It is evident that this construction could be reversed by makingslight changes in the shape of the side plates, so as to make the separate side plate 0 the inner plate instead of the enter one, and in such case the outer side plate, the hub, c1.'ossri'bs, and rim would form a single casting.

It is evident that in addition to the economy in manufacture above referred to a carwheel whose center or body constructed with one of its side plates of wrought iron or steel and the remainder of cast-iron, these parts being securely bolted together, will necessarily be stronger to resist the strains and shocks to which it is subjected than it made in. substantially the same shape and of the same weight of .metal, but wholly of cast-iron, as has heretofore been customary; also by this construction both sides of the casting can be fully inspected and any flaws or imperfections be detected, which is not practicable in hollow centers cast in a single piece. I do not, however, desire to limit my invention to making the center partly from east and partly from wrought metal or steel, as it is evident that by increasing the thickness of the side plate 0 it could be formed by casting and make a practical wheel. This would, however, increase the weight of the wheel, and would in that respect be less desirable. Neither do I desire to limit my invention to the :t'orming of the rim G or the ribs F integral with the part B, as it is evident that if the parts B and (l were both formed by casting the rim G and the cross-ribs F might be formed either wholly or in part upon either of these parts.

lVhat is claimed as new is- 1. A hollow car-wheel center adapted to re eeive a tire, consisting of a hub, rim, side plates, and cross-ribs of two separable main or principal parts or pieces united together by belts or rivets, sub stantially as and for the purpose set forth.

2. A hollow car-wheel center adapted to receive a tire, consisting of a hub, rim, side plates, and cross-ribs or stays, and composed of two separable principal parts or pieces secured together by bolts or rivets, one of which parts is of cast metal, while the other is of wrought iron or steel, substantially as and for the purpose set fortl 3. A hollow car-wheel center adapted to re- I ceive a tire, composed of two separable principal parts secured together by belts or rivets, one of said parts being of cast metal, and forming the hub, rim, and one side plate with or stays, and composed parts form a single casting or stem cross-ribs or stays, while the other part is of wrought iron or steel and constitutes the opposite side plate, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

4. A car-wheel composed of a tire and ya substantially hollow center formed in separate parts and united together, the center containing a hub, rim, side plates, and cross-ribs or stays, being composed of two principal parts or pieces secured together by bolts or rivets, substantially as and for the purpose described.

5. A car-wheel composed of a tire and a substantially hollow center formed separately and united together, the center containing a hub, rim, side plates, and cross-ribs or stays, being composed of two principal parts or pieces secured together by bolts or rivets, one

of which parts is of cast metal and the other of wrought iron or steel, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. A car-wl1eel composed of a tire and a RICHARD N. ALLEN.

Witnesses:

R0131. H. DUNCAN, PARKER W. PAGE. 

